Pandya ready for Maji Poa Rally

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania national rally defending champion, Dharam Pandya left for Arusha yesterday ahead of Maji Poa Guru Nanak Rally opening on Saturday.

Pandya left with his navigator Manmeet Singh, who promised to take the event by storm and emerge champions.

Pandya told The Citizen that he bought new tyres from England in order to avoid puncture which he experienced in the last two championships.

“I have done all necessary preparations to make sure I win the rally, I have imported new tyres from England and tested them. My sponsor Puma Energy Tanzania Limited has facilitated me to do all kind of maintenances, I am ready for the battle,” said Pandya.

“I am looking ahead to the remaining two championships, and I will fight to be back on track,” said Pandya, who notched unassailable 122 total points in eight rounds of the last year’s National Rally Championship.

“I am clearly determined to recover the points that I lost after sustaining punctures in the Kisarawe and Bagamoyo championships,” said the rally driver who won the championship for the first time in 2011, taking the crown from his father and mentor, Kirit Pandya, the then 2010 champion. Sanju Pandya, who navigates Dharam, was also decorated to become the navigator of the year 2015.

He explained that although he is facing an uphill task in both the Arusha and Morogoro motor rallies, he is sure to reach his target.

“I faced problems in the previous two rallies and dropped points, all it means is that I face an uphill climb to retaining the title. But this is the nature of the game, and what happened to me can also happen to the other drivers in the upcoming races” “I am still optimistic that I will win this time round. I pray that I will not face problems in the remaining championships like it was in the past two,” said Pandya.

He said Puma Energy had given him a new car -- a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9. Puma Energy general manager Philippe Corsaletti said they were proud to support the driver who is doing well in the game. Corsaletti said their firm is also proud to be a key stakeholder in sports development after they sponsored the Dar es Salaam Open golf tournament.

“Pandya is doing well in the game. He managed to win the 2015 national championship, and he is also among the top drivers in this year’s competition. We are proud of him because he has taken the game to the next level.”

The event is expecting to feature the total of 50 drivers from various clubs in the country. Some of the prominent drivers are Jamil Khan, who leads the ‘Sierra Zulu’ team, Randeep Singh, who is the national first runner-up and current second runner up, Gurpal Sandhu.

The event would cover a distance of 146 kilometres in the famous northern zone region.